Hunter
by alaricnomad
Summary: Peter/Claire. "There was something about the hunt that never failed to thrill him." ONESHOT.


**--Hunter--**

The air was cold, the kind of sharp, edgy chill that numbed out his fingers and stole the breath right from his lungs. He shivered- a reflexive acknowledgement of winter's startling accompaniment- and breathed out a sigh of relief as he rounded the corner, spotting the shadowed outline of the nearby woods. Withdrawing the flashlight from his pocket, he clicked it on, grateful for the pale illumination as he stepped into the sheltered foliage. The sudden sound of rustling leaves and he let the noise guide where his eyes could not, turning off the flashlight as fingers encircled his wrist, lightly pulling him forward.

"You're late," was the quiet greeting.

He scoffed, "I had to sidestep half the family. How'd you get here so easily?"

A giggle, "Magic."

"Right," he replied blankly.

"Oh, lighten up a bit."

Gentle fingers moved from his wrist to slowly trail up his hand, arm and shoulder, finally coming to rest at his cheek with a teasing, tickling brush. He trembled slightly- too proud to admit it was her touch he was reacting to, he blamed it on the cold. "We couldn't have met in the car? It's freezing out here."

"Last time we tried that, you complained it was too cramped."

"There's no beating around the bush with you, is there?"

"Nope," amusement colored her tone as she ghosted her hand down his arm, so light a touch it was barely tangible but for yet another shiver it invoked.

He took in a deep breath and nodded- more an affirmation to himself than to the woman before him. An arm around slender hips and he pulled her toward him. They came together with a sudden flame ignited.

Mouths met and clung.

Touch took on a life of its own.

It was lips and tongue and teeth, hands and fingers and entwining limbs. Taste, touch, smell and sound were enhanced so sweetly by the lack of sight. The cold was a forgotten sensation in the uprising heat generated between them, generous shadow cast over them to veil their clandestine intentions.

She pulled away, breaking their embrace and he gave a groan of disappointment, his efforts to reach out to her thwarted when she backed away even further. A teasing smile played across cherry-red lips full and swollen from their kisses, green eyes aglow with mischief as she whispered. "Want me?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"You'll have to earn it."

And the chase was on.

There was something about the hunt that never failed to thrill him. His training enabling him to stalk through the forest with the stealth and grace of a wildcat, a lurking prowler hidden in the shadows, waiting for his chance to strike.

He moved himself into position, raising his body off the ground and into a crouching position, every movement as fluid as the flowing of the river. He leapt, grabbing for her as they both crashed, landing roughly against the carpeted ground of moss and dead leaves.

He cushioned most of her fall but gentleness wasn't the first insistent on his mind as he straddled her, pinning her arms above her head. She lay passively beneath him, chest heaving as she stared up into eyes she knew so well turned dark and foreboding.

She knew this change in her lover far too well and she submitted, wrapping her arms around his neck after he released them, hands gripping instead possessively at her hips.

His lips nuzzled against her ear, strangely tender in light of the urgent way he pressed his hips against hers, equally needing as he was demanding. "Mine."

Even though it was a tone that would accept no arguments, she gave him her agreement anyway, knowing that dormant part of Peter would be reassured by the little whisper of, "Yours. Always."

And she lay beneath him, invincible yes, but physically vulnerable. Helpless, but not hopeless- no matter his state, this man would never dream of hurting her. She accepted the hunter's hold, but it was the lover's kiss she welcomed. The change came once more, quietly and unassuming, soft eyes watching her now as she reached up to trace the scar on his face. That cold part of him warmed and melted under her touch, her whispered words of love and possession soothing as they fell back against the ground, and laid the hunter to rest.


End file.
